"This splendidly planned chronological survey takes us from 1450 to 1519 in the company of one of the finest Renaissance composers, Heinrich Isaac ... There's a vast range of expression, from laments and motets to carnival songs and ceremonial music. Jordi Savall and his musicians excel in this repertoire and seem more at home with this harmonious idiom than they do in later work".
"Die Musiker von La Capella Reial de Catalunya und Hespèrion XXI folgen ihrem Leiter dabei in gewohnter Perfektion und Geschlossenheit. Die mehr als 500 Jahre alte Musik von Isaac wird mit neuem Leben erfüllt und erreicht den Hörer durch ihre große Emotion ganz unmittelbar. Jordi Savall ist eine hervorragende Hommage auf diesen großen Kapellmeister gelungen".
Presto classical
2017
By
2017
"This new album is not only the opportunity to discover the music of Heinrich Isaac under the inspired direction of Jordi Savall; it is also the portrait of an era during which the Hundred Year's War ended, the Medici family reached its peak, the idea of the Reformation surged and Charles V was crowned at the head of an Empire that redefined the idea of Europe, as did the music of this time".
"Savall meshes lie and work, scared and secular, in a richly imagined tapestry ... Bells are sprinkled throughout the disc like gold leaf highlighting letters in a manuscript ... In all, this is an absorbing window on an absorbing world".
The gramophone
2017 September
By
By
Fabrice Fitch
2017 September
"This year is Isaac year (he died in 1517) ... A high proportion of his most famous pieces is included ... These interpretations might have been made 40 years ago, with drums and bells added to voices and instruments and tempos on the slow side, giving a rather static impression ... The vocal ensemble sounds under-prepared and hesitant ... In sum, there are few pieces for which more stylish and satisfying recorded alternatives don't already exist".